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Literawiki:How to write a good review
__TOC__ So, you'd like to write a book review for the Literature Wikia (or anywhere else)? :Great! Here are some suggestions about how you can make your review better. And when you make your review better, people are more likely to use what you write to guide their own "next to read" plans. When you write a review consider providing the following... Style Like many other things, the context of the review will change what is appropriate. For some places, a review should be as objective and factual as possible. Other places, like this wiki, it is appropriate, and even encouraged, to say what you like and don't like about the work being reviewed. Synopsis Include a synopsis, that is a short description or summary of what happens. For fiction, I prefer to focus more on what happens in the early part of the story. That way you are less likely to have a spoiler that might ruin the surprises in the story for others. A synopsis could be several paragraphs long or just a single sentence. Here are a few examples: (These can be replaced with better ones later.) :Alice follows an unusual rabbit, falls into a rabbit hole where she encounters many odd and irrational characters. (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) :Emma is a privileged, young, upper-class woman in 18th century England. Because of her family's wealth and social position, she is a leader in local society. At the beginning of the story, her previous governess and companion has just married. Emma feels that her encouragement helped form this match, and she decides to "use her powers for good" by matchmaking for a few other acquaintances. This plan combined with her naivety results comical and near tragic mishaps. Give some information about one or more of the key characters, the setting and type of book. If you write a review to go with an existing article that already gives a synopsis, you do not need to repeat it. Rational Don't just say that you liked or disliked the work. Explain why. :(invented example) Instead of :: Sunrise Storm was boring. :explain that the problem is that the author is "recycling" the plot :: Sunrise Storm was just the same as the author's three previous works, Morning Storm, Twightlight Storm and Afternoon Storm. The names of the characters and time of day are different, but the plot and resolution are exactly the same. Example Tell about an incident in the book. For instance, :In Anne of Green Gables the protagonist doesn't like her own appearance, especially her red hair. This gets her in trouble when she reacts to someone calling her "carrot top" and again when she tries to change its color. Anne manages to get into a different kind of trouble in every chapter, but... using that dye! The example tells a few different things about the character and the types of action in the story. It may include a small spoiler for particular incidents, so it's best to describe parts that are early in the book. If it's important to your review to tell about a major or climactic moment in the story, please consider providing a spoiler alert, so you don't ruin the story for someone who doesn't want to know the plot's turning point before reading it. Reception If the work you are reviewing had an important impact on literature, you can mention it. Example: *''Hopscotch'' is the most transcendent work of Julio Cortázar. It has been considered as one of the most important works in Latin American literature. Hopscotch possesses unique characteristics that made critics categorize it in the "contranovela" genre. It is the first novel to include an alternative way to read it. Recommendations Remember one of the purposes of this wiki is to help others find things they might like to read and a variety of opinions may be useful. Some factual information you could include to assist others in either the main article about it or the reviews would be information about * the genre of the work * themes * other works by the same author. Then there are more subjective components like * other works you think would be a good indicators of whether someone would like this *: For example, if you like the sense of absurd in Up the Down Staircase, you might also enjoy Stranger in a Strange Land. (This might not be an especially good example. Feel free to replace it with something better.) * age or topic appropriateness *: Examples: fun for children and adults to read together, or contains descriptions of extremely dysfunctional families and may be disturbing for children, or thoughtful exploration of the repercussions of a serious illness in the family, which could provide a basis for discussion with teens in a family that has been affected * comparisons -- similar to and different from other works, and how Norms for Literawiki As mentioned above, there are some variants in review styles, and you should take those into account when you write a review. For Literawiki, you can write a longer review as a stand-alone article and link to and from it to the article about the literary work. Or you can write a short review that fits onto the main article about the work. If there are several short reviews, we might move them to a collection of reviews. On Literawiki, we do not require a neutral point of view. You are welcome to express your opinion or feelings about the work you are reviewing. Please keep subjective reviews separate from the more objective or fact-based parts of an article. Unless you have the permission of the reviewer or the review violates a term or norm of this wiki, do not change any one else's review. While most of the wiki is collaborative, and it's perfectly ok to add to and improve other people's contributions, the reviews are someone's judgement. You're welcome to write your own review if you disagree or feel something is missing. Please be polite. You can disagree about the literary work without saying anything rude about the reviewer. As with more objective parts of the article, if you say something that may ruin the surprise of reading a literary work, please use a spoiler alert. We haven't decided yet whether to encourage signing reviews, but because these are one person's opinion instead of a collaboratively written article, I (CocoaZen) think it would be good. What do you think? Yes, as a review is not NPOV, it should be signed. Besides, if there are several reviews on an article, it could be a way to avoid confusion. David 17:43, 27 September 2008 (UTC) *